On this day in 2008, Oklahoma City acquired its first professional sports franchise.
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15 years ago, the Seattle Supersonics were officially relocated to OKC and rebranded the Oklahoma City Thunder. Seattle and Thunder owner Clay Bennett agreed on a $75 million settlement to opt out of their lease early with KeyArena.
Bennett purchased the Supersonics in Oct. 2006 from Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. After failing to come to an agreement on a new arena, Bennett moved the Thunder to his home state less than two years later.
The Thunder played their first season in OKC during the 2008-09 season. Since then, they’ve enjoyed being one of the more successful NBA franchises under the helm of general manager Sam Presti.
